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Sudan Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok survives assassination attempt

Sudan PM Abdalla Hamdok survived an assassination attempt on Monday.

Sudan PM Abdalla Hamdok survived an assassination attempt on Monday. Photo: Getty

Sudan’s prime minister has survived an assassination attempt after an explosion went off near his convoy in the capital of Khartoum, Sudan’s state media says.

Abdalla Hamdok’s office and his family confirmed he was safe following the explosion on Monday.

Sudanese state TV said Mr Hamdok, a long-time economist, was heading to the Cabinet’s offices when the attack took place, and that he was taken to a “safe place”.

The attack highlighted the fragility of Sudan’s transition to civilian rule, almost a year after pro-democracy protesters forced the military to remove autocratic President Omar al-Bashir from power and replace him with a joint military-civilian government.

However, military generals remain the de facto rulers of the country and have shown little willingness to hand over power to civilians.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and it was unclear what type of device caused the explosion.

Footage posted online showed two white, Japanese-made SUVs vehicles used by Sudan’s top officials parked on a street, damaged with windows broken.

Another vehicle was badly damaged in the blast.

Several dozen people were seen in the site of the attack, chanting: “With our blood and soul, we redeem you, Hamdok”.

The protest movement that led the uprising against Mr al-Bashir called the blast a “terrorist attack”.

The statement by the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change called on people to take to the streets to “show our unity and cohesion … and protect the transitional authority”.

After months of negotiations, the military and the pro-democracy movement reached a power-sharing deal in August, at which point Mr Hamdok took office.

The deal established a joint military-civilian, 11-member sovereign council to govern Sudan for the next three years.

Prominent activist Khalid Omar, secretary general of the Sudanese Congress Party, said the attempt on Mr Hamdouk’s life was a “new chapter in the conspiracy against the Sudanese revolution”.

Monday’s blast came less than two months after an armed revolt from within Sudan’s security forces shut down the capital’s airport and left at least two people dead.

The tense stand-off between the armed forces and rogue intelligence officers paralysed street life in several parts of Khartoum, along with another western city.

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